by them.
They knew from what sort of a creature they proceeded; they knew they
were the varying notes of the great horned-owl; and as they had seen and
heard many a one before, they paid no heed to this individual.

"While Basil was going on with his relation, the bird had been several
times seen to glide past, and circle around upon his noiseless pinions.
So easy was his flight, that the slightest inclining of his spread tail,
or the bending of his broad wing, seemed sufficient to turn and carry
him in any direction. Nothing could be more graceful than his flight,
which was not unlike that of the eagle, while he was but little inferior
in size to one of these noble birds.

"What interrupted Basil was, that the owl had alighted upon a branch not
twenty feet from where they were all sitting round the fire, by the
blaze of which they now had a full view of this singular creature. The
moment it alighted, it commenced uttering its hideous and unmusical
cries, at the same time going through such a variety of contortions,
both with its head and body, as to cause the whole party a fit of
laughter. It was, in fact, an odd and interesting sight to witness its
grotesque movements, as it turned first its body, and then its head
around, without moving the shoulders, while its great honey-coloured
eyes glared in the light of the fire. At the end of every attitude and
utterance, it would snap its bill with such violence, that the cracking
of the mandibles upon each other might have been heard to the distance
of several hundred yards.

"This was too much for Francois' patience to bear, and he immediately
crept to his gun. He had got hold of the piece, and cocked it; but, just
as he was about to take aim, the owl dropped silently down from the
branch, and, gliding gently forward, thrust out its feathered leg, and
lifted one of the grouse in its talons. The latter had been lying upon
the top of a fallen tree not six feet from the fire! The owl, after
clutching it, rose into the air; and the next moment would have been
lost in darkness, but the crack of Francois' rifle put a sudden stop to
its flight, and with the grouse still clinging to its claws it fell
fluttering to the earth. Marengo jumped forward to seize it; but Marengo
little knew the sort of creature he had to deal with."

It happened to be only "winged," and as soon as the dog came near, it
threw itself upon its back, and struck at him with its talons so
wickedly, that he